âYeah, weâve appraised it repeatedly. In the end, we all agreed that itâs authentic. Thereâs no way itâs fake.â
âIf it was just one person, it might have slipped our eye, but it canât slip all our eyes, right?â
âThe few of us have been appraising paintings for half our lives. Could it be that we canât compare to a⦠the eyesight of a young man?â
âWe have worked for half our lives. If we canât compare to a young manâs eyesight, then we have really lived for so many years.â
They were already very restrained in their words. They used the term âyoung manâ to address Ye Feng, instead of using the term âwet behind the earsâ to insult him. They were already giving Chen Qiushan a lot of face.
Chen Qiushan coughed awkwardly. âItâs not that I donât believe in your abilities, but Mr. Yeâs appraisal skills are also very strong. Since thereâs a dispute, we should discuss it again. Am I right?â
The goateed old man stroked his beard. âThen I wonder if this⦠What reason did Mr. Ye give?â
Chen Qiushan hurriedly explained, âMr. Ye said that this painting was pieced together. Only the signature and seal are authentic works of Zheng Banqiao. The rest are all forged.â
Hearing his explanation, the appraisers laughed again.
âPieced together? What kind of joke is this? Weâre not blind. Canât we tell if itâs pieced together or not?â
âIf it was pieced together, we would definitely be able to see the traces of stitching. However, the few of us have already checked it many times. Thereâs no problem at all.â
âThatâs right. No matter how brilliant the stitching technique is, itâs impossible for there to be no trace at all. This is too ridiculous.â
âA person who says such words would appear to be a laymanâ¦â
When everyone heard Ye Fengâs reason, they scoffed even more and did not show any mercy.
Pang Daqian heard everyoneâs criticism of Ye Feng, he became more and more pleased. There were still people who knew what was good.
Chen Qiushan hurriedly looked at Ye Fengâs expression. Seeing that he was still calm, he heaved a sigh of relief.
âNo matter what, since there is a dispute on this issue, please appraise it carefully again to ensure that nothing goes wrong.â
Although the appraisers were reluctant, Chen Qiushan was the person in charge of Sothebyâs in Yang Cheng, so they could only do as he said.
They took out their small flashlights and magnifying glasses and continued to observe the painting. As they observed, they communicated with each other.
âWhatâs wrong with it? Why canât I tell?â
âYeah, the paper used for this painting is all from the Qing Dynasty.â
âI donât believe that the stitching can be done without leaving any traces.â
âThis is a whole piece of paper. How can it be pieced togetherâ¦â
The appraisal lasted for more than ten minutes, and the appraisers exchanged opinions with each other.
The goateed old man looked at Chen Qiushan again. âMr. Chen, we did a careful appraisal according to your instructions and confirmed that this painting is a complete piece. There are no traces of stitching.â
âI just donât know if youâd rather believe someoneâs nonsense or our results?â
His words were filled with resentment, clearly very dissatisfied with Chen Qiushan overthrowing their test results because of someone elseâs words.
Pang Daqian immediately clapped his hands and laughed. âLetâs see how some people are going to quibble now. He canât be the only one whoâs sober, right?â
Chen Qiushanâs face was filled with embarrassment, and he looked at Ye Feng again. âBrother Ye, look at thisâ¦â
Ye Feng put down his chopsticks and rubbed his stomach. âMmm, the food here is really good, delicious!â
Pang Daqian glanced at him. âSome people are really big-hearted. Their faces are swollen, but they can still eat it?â
Ye Fengâs gaze slowly swept across the few appraisers. âI have already said before, this paintingâs method of forgery is very brilliant. With your ordinary eyes, of course you cannot tell.â
The few appraisers were so angry that they laughed.
âHahaha, ordinary eyes? So, you have a pair of sharp eyes?â
âIs he thinking of himself as the Great Sage Sun? Then our eyes are really blind. We actually didnât see it, hahahaâ¦â
âYoung man, it doesnât matter if you say or do something wrong. The important thing is to be brave enough to admit your mistakes. You canât be stubborn in the end.â
âSo many of our appraisal results canât compare to your nonsense? Arenât you too condescending?â
They were all angered by Ye Fengâs arrogant attitude, and they started to retaliate.
Ye Feng looked at them with a smile. âIf I prove that this painting was pieced together, wouldnât it prove that everyone here is trash? Isnât this too cruel?â
As soon as he said this, he once again attracted the attacks of several appraisers.
âI beg you, hurry up and prove it. As long as you can prove that this painting is pieced together, Iâll admit that Iâm trash.â
âThis kid is too arrogant. Iâve been an appraiser all my life. How can I be wrong?â
âIf you canât prove it, then youâre just trash. You donât have the strengthâ¦â
âCut the crap and show me the evidenceâ¦â
Chen Qiushan had wanted to be the peacemaker, but the situation was already on the verge of losing control. It was no longer an academic dispute, but more like a dispute of personal feelings.
Everyone wanted to fight for this, so there was really no way to smooth things over.
At this moment, Ye Feng looked at him. âI need a microscope.â